Step 9: And paint it - I chose red.

Step 10: The wheels.

The wheels I used are garden cart wheels from Northern tool. They work great - the bearings are real smooth and makes towing it a pleasure. I used t...

This instructable will detail how to make a small airplane bicycle trailer. I make these for sale, but am glad if other people try their hand at it. I make a plane, train, tank, taxi and tractor version of these. My son loves this particular trailer (it was my first) and I bet your child will love it as well. It is real simple - just knowing how someone else did it may make your day easier.

Step 1: Find Materials (aka The Three Lives of Pine Boards)

Your first step in this process is to procure what you will need for the plane. My main materials came from a bookshelf that I took down in one of our rooms. I began this project to submit it for the instructable contest where something is used for another purpose - and as you can see I didn't make that deadline.

Below is a list of what I used to make the little plane:
1. 1x12 pine boards (I used a handful of 30 inch long ones and two 10 feet long ones)
2. 2 wheels from Northern Tool
3. small brads (1 inch)
4. small screws (3/4 inch)
5. one L bracket (4 inch)
6. two 5 gallon buckets with lids (you really only need two lids - I just used this project to justify buying two more buckets).
7. one length of 2 inch conduit
8. assorted switches and an old alarm clock.
9. a one foot diameter concrete tube (or a compass...)

In regard to number 1 - the bookcase I had to take down had shelves thirty inches wide across and twelve inches deep - these dimensions influenced the dimensions of the plane because I didn't want to purchase any other materials.

I was just doing some browsing at the outdoor instructables and saw this bike trailer and I had to say.. this is so cool... makes me want to be a kid again! But knowing me I probably would of builds this with four wheels with the idea that I can go down a steep hill and try to make it fly..lol I read a comment about safety and before I read it I was thinking that maybe adding a roll cage around the cockpit making it look like windows and maybe adding plexiglass on it. That and a seat belt should make it a little safer in the case it will flip over. Just a thought incase someone desides to build one. I like to think of safety when it come to making things for kids. Just a thought I had! This is a great instructable build. Makes me want to go and build one! That propeller would be so cool if it rotate with the air when in motion.. =) Great choice of color too.. It reminds me of the Red Baron Biplane! So cool...

awesome. You inspired me to build one as well. http://www.instructables.com/id/Hotrod-bike-trailer/Since you are selling them, what type of safety regulations do you have to abide by? I know about the harness, reflectors, fail-safe on the hitch.. but if there are any docs or sites you could recommend i would appreciate it. police can be pretty anal around here. i'd like to make sure it's safe and legal.

I know, I'm just teasing. In my opinion though, NASA missed out on some of the best personnel to pull from when they skipped over the submariners. I mean, think about it. Who better to handle being locked inside a cramped tin can for days on end in a hostile environment?

Haha, true. I've meet some submariners, I was always so envious that they were all buddies and could do whatever cause they're underwater and no one saw them. I'd see pics of them hanging w/their skipper and beards. Beards! Like they're pirates =D

Love the design and effort that went into this, although i find the whole idea of children in bike trailers to be extremely dangerous and irresponsible. That said, i do like the ingenuity and craftsmanship.

wow, i ve build in the past a small static ship for my nephews, but this one is nice and kids gonna love it!Bytheway i live in Greece, could you send me a link of the store for these wheels. Here is hard to find except bikycle wheels but are heavy.

That looks really cool. Really cool but unfortunately totally impractical! I'm not sure where you'd want to ride with it, if you were on the roads then the wingspan would mean you'd need to take up an entire lane, if you were trying to ride on a path then you'll probably find that you simply cannot fit due to the width of paths, overhanging bushes, gates, bollards and other people. I ride with an ordinary single-seater trailer behind for my little boy and find that we have hassles on half the so-called "bike paths" because the people who design them only make them wide enough for an ordinary bicycle, anyone with a trailer, trike, or wide load is out of luck.

If you added a pair of paint ball guns on the wings (restricted from shooting the towing bike of course) you could teach the neighborhood bully a real lesson (just kidding - I especially like the dashboard)

When your son outgrows the trailer, you can use it to tow a cooler to picnics!!!

I just made another instructable - it is called bicycle trailer hitch - it has a series of photos how I took a chain tensioner and made it into a workable hitch. I hope this helps. If not, send me another msg. - tmherrin

Awesome design, and I bet you get a lot of smiles when you're pulling / riding in this. I would make one small addition - a bicycle safety flag - mounted on the tail. Many areas require a passenger trailer to have a pennant of some sort at a car driver's eye level for safety. Again, awesome work!

A flag would be a great idea. I do not go out and about on the roads since my hometown has a lot of bike paths. Our state law requires 3ft clearance when a car passes a bike on a public road - and this is over three feet wide. I plan on adding to the instructable when I find my pics of how I mounted a seatbelt.

Two little suggestions... One, maybe you should put a fender on your back bike wheel so you don't kick a rock in little-man's face. Two, I think the hitch should have some kind of break-away in case you fall over on the bike.

That looks like something so neat for a kid, that he'll always remember going for a bike ride with dad.

Thanks for all of the instructions, including 'errors in the making'. (I would have thought that dry erase would come off of paint, too). Wasn't sure what the photo of the car was, but later learned of your constructive use of vehicle weight for pipe bending.

Really cute! You must get a lot of looks and compliments when you take your boy out for a spin. I've been thinking of something similar for a swing set; I'm sure I'll use some of your ideas. To satisfy the safety nazis, you could easily add a seat belt (all airplanes have them) and a flashing light atop the tail fin would go along with the plane motif better than a pendant.